The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing sheet material, in particular papers of value such as bank notes, checks, etc., wherein different groups of sheet material are processed one after the other, the different groups of sheet material being separated for processing by separation means.
In the processing of different groups of bank notes, the different groups of bank notes correspond to deposits by different depositors which are separated by means of separation cards. The separation cards are inserted between the different deposits to separate them. The separation cards can be disposed at the beginning, the end, or the beginning and end of the group of bank notes forming the particular deposit. The separation cards can contain information for example on the depositor and/or the deposit. Further, the separation cards are so designed as to be recognized automatically during processing by the sensors of the bank note processing machine. When a separation card is recognized, the bank note processing machine can enter the associated group of bank notes in the books for the corresponding deposit or corresponding depositor.
The known method has the disadvantage, however, that disturbances and faulty results repeatedly occur during processing of different groups of sheet material despite the design of the separation cards. It is especially problematic that jams or other operating disturbances can result in the bank notes being mixed, i.e. one or more bank notes of one deposit are mixed with bank notes of another deposit in the bank note processing machine. Since the boundaries between different deposits can only be recognized when a separation card is transported through the sensors and recognized, it is not readily possible to avoid mixing since at this time bank notes of the next deposit have normally already been singled and are located in the bank note processing machine. If a disturbance occurs at this time, the bank notes from the two different deposits can no longer be separated so that they cannot be clearly associated with the two different deposits.